Kitsune no Tori
by KopyKita
Summary: Squad 13. A team made of those with unfortunate pasts and futures. The members find themselves forced to face each other's history in order to move forward, but what happens if they can't? Will Naruto be able to help? Temp pause until school slows
1. Prologue: Dream of the Future

Disclaimer: I do not own the rights to Naruto in any way shape or form. I only claim rights to the original characters placed therein: Suko and Shoumi. Kozueya is a character borrowed with the permission from Arcander.

* * *

_ Red. Everything was red—the rain that splattered in her hair and the grass that drank it. The sky, the trees, the bird… bird. It burned. Fire. Fire and blood. Everywhere. The definition of red. _

_--------------------------------------------_

Suko slammed her head against the bunk above her, falling sideways in her disorientation and crashing to the floor with an audible groan. It took her a moment to figure out where she was, and why her head felt like a watermelon that had just been introduced to a baseball bat. Burrowing into the pile of blankets she had dragged with her to the floor, she stared blankly ahead to wooden door of her tiny apartment. The sun shone weakly in the empty room, barely casting enough light to give shadows to the two or three pieces of simple furniture. _Okay,_ she thought, forcing herself up and rubbing the bump on her forehead, _it is morning. I'm in my room. I hit my head…… ouch._

Grimacing, she got to her feet and stumbled to the closet, running her fingers through her long auburn hair in an attempt to tame it before grabbing the simple gray tunic and long black leggings that she wore on almost any given day. Slipping them on, she synched the soft periwinkle belt tightly around her waist, making the tunic appear like a simple dress, smiling as she spun a little before the mirror. Her hair would need a little more work, but at least she had plenty of time. She sat back down on her bed, careful not to bump against the bunk again as she pulled out her brush, trying to recall the dream that had caused her to awake in such a panic this morning. She normally could remember her dreams…

* * *

_ She fell to the ground, tiny form trembling as she tried to force her lungs to expand—to take in air—but they refused. _

"_Again!"_

"_I… can't… breathe…"_

"_You will never master this technique if you do not try to the point of death. Again!" The voice hissed, cold yellow eyes boring into hers. _

_--------------------------------------------_

_She was so tired. She could barely move. 'Keep going. You have to get away. If he catches yo—footsteps. Lots.. From where? Behind? Ahead? Can't tell. Can't think.' "…ight? …llo? Sen..e… sh...s no… onding."_

'_Focus on their words.'_

"_Give her some air Kozueya. Shoumi, take the class back to the village, then alert the hospital that I'm bringing in an injured girl."_

'_The names aren't familiar… not them. Then who?' _

_A pair of strong arms picked her up carefully after checking to see if she was wounded, carrying her farther in the direction she'd been going. 'I'm okay…'_

_--------------------------------------------_

'_Lavender?' She didn't move, and not knowing where she was she didn't dare open her eyes. Running through each of her senses, she felt the weight of the sheets against her and the soft cushion of the mattress below. The smell of the lavender seemed to be coming from off to her right, which she assumed to be flowers, but might also be perfume or something. She could hear someone talking, but it was muffled. Probably from the other side a door or wall. Hearing nothing but a faint clicking noise in the room with her she cautiously opened her eyes to find herself lying in a hospital bed, soft afternoon light washing over the room. On a small table beside her sat a little jar with some wild lavender inside, a note hanging from one of the leaves read 'Get well soon, Academy Class 4a.' Well, whoever found her must not mean to harm her, wishing her well. She sat up slowly and leaned back on the pillows, looking out the window. She wondered where she was exactly. "You're up! Wonderful! We were beginning to think you were dead. I'm Kozueya! What's your name?" A strange voice from a strange girl._

* * *

She shook her head to clear her thoughts. "Dreams like those…" Her usual dreams. The day they found her… a few weeks later when she first met her friends… and of course… before she had arrived in Konoha. She scrunched up her face a bit and threw the brush back on the bed. She remembered even the worst of dreams… but this one. Red. That was it. That was all she could remember. "Mou…" Her hitai-ate in hand, she stuck her tongue out at the whole thing and hopped out the door to go meet her team for their daily assignment.

* * *

Naruto yawned, bright blue eyes twinging in the sun as he rolled over in bed, his nightcap falling to the floor. His unruly mop of golden blonde hair stuck out every which way as he climbed from his bed and made his way to the bathroom. It had taken him a while to fall asleep the night before, and when he finally had it had been the strangest dream he'd ever experienced. It started off like they usually did… he was off training or on a mission and talking to Sakura, only this time it wasn't Sakura. He thought whoever it was looked familiar, but he couldn't quite place her face and the longer he thought about it the more obscure it seemed to become.

He scratched his head, grabbing his toothbrush and shrugging to off. It would be time for lunch soon, and a good bowl of ramen always got rid of any bothersome thoughts. The image of her hand in his flashed through his mind. He could almost smell her hair and feel the weight of her head on his shoulder. Her eyes… _Nope! I love Sakura. _He thought forcefully, spitting into the sink and wiping his face with his towel. **Funny. Your heart beat jumped at the thought of this mystery girl.** _Shut up Kyuubi._ The door clicked shut behind him, his hand over his eyes a moment until they adjusted to the light, smiling as he turned down the street, the wind ruffling his hair a bit as he moved towards Ichiraku's.

* * *

Author's Note: Greetings all and welcome to Kitsune no Tori (The Fox's Bird). This is my first official fic, and I hope everyone will enjoy it. A few things I should mention. First is formatting. Long lines mean a change in scene. Short ones mean just a small shift. Whole paragraphs in italics are flashbacks or dreams, while sentences are thoughts. Demons speak in bold because they're cool that way. Second note is chapter length. I hope that this will be the shortest chapter of any part of my fic, since it is just a little intro. I will try to make each chapter around 2,000 words; therefore my updates may take a little while. If you have any questions feel free to send me a message and I'll answer it as best I can. I hope to have the next chapter up within a couple weeks. Until then. – Link Disengaged -- 


	2. Chapter 1: A Curious Council

It was already past ten o'clock by the time Suko found her first teammate, who was sitting quietly by herself on a fence and looking at nothing in particular as Suko hopped onto it next to her, tapping one foot against the side. "I'm guessing that Shoumi-kun and Shikamaru Sensei aren't here yet, judging from the fact that I can't see them. Do you think they'll be late again?"  
"Who knows? Remember," Kozueya said with a shrug and a smile, imitating Shikamaru's voice, "I can't be bothered to—"  
"What's that you're saying?"  
"Iie! Nothing sensei!" She said, startled as he landed on the ground below them. Shikamaru gave his usual 'troublesome women' look in their direction and leaned back against the fence. Suko giggled a little. "Good morning sensei. What are we doing today?" She asked, jumping lightly to the ground, her hands clasped behind her back while she continued to tap her foot. It was bit of a nervous habit that she was trying to break, though unsuccessful so far.  
"Probably the same thing we do every day. More training. What else?" Shoumi replied, walking up from out of nowhere and taking a seat on an old crate, folding his arms across his chest. His mud brown hair fell over his dark eyes a little, his face slipping into a scowl as he huffed and it flopped back into place. Shikamaru glanced at the new arrival. "You're late."  
"As I'm sure you were," he replied simply. Before Shikamaru had a chance to reprimand his cheekiness, Kozueya gave a plaintive whine.  
"Ne… Shikamaru-sensei. Are we training today, or do we actually have a mission?"  
Shikamaru's gaze shifted moodily towards the sun, his hands moving behind his head in the classic nonchalant pose. "The Hokage wanted to see us ten minutes ago."  
"Eh?! Then why did you both show up late?! Won't we get in trouble?!" Suko shouted in a panic, her fists clenched tight as she bounced in place. "Shoumi-kun! This is all going to be your fault if Tsunade-sama gets mad at me!"  
Shoumi grimaced a little at Suko's shrill voice, rubbing his ear a bit before waving his hand at her dismissively. "Damn you're loud. Relax. She's never cared before. I seriously doubt she will today."  
Suko pouted a little until Kozueya linked arms with her, giving her a smile. "Suko-chan... we'll just tell her that it was the boy's fault. If worst comes to worse... We'll tell Konohamaru to tell Naruto that Tsunade was being mean to some damsels in distress. Let's go." She sang cheerfully, skipping away and dragging a whimpering Suko along. Shikamaru raised an eyebrow in contemplation, muttering to himself and tsking. "Girls… Here I thought I was in charge." Shoumi shook his head a little, slowly walking after them, though backwards so he could still address their teacher. "Is it just me or are they hard to understand?"  
"You've just discovered the world's greatest truth."

* * *

It had been a long morning, and Tsunade already knew it was only going to get longer as she closed the door to the board meeting room behind her and began the slow walk back to back to her office. She could not believe what the council wanted her to do, and what made it worse was her inability to speak against it. She stopped, turning to look out one of the windows, her head down and reflection strong as the light burned against her. Ever since the team had been formed… 

"_Tsunade-sama, we have a matter we would like to discuss with you on this year's squad assignments." The old council woman said in a soft tone, her face serious as always. Tsunade raised her head tiredly from the stack of scrolls. She had only become the Hokage a short time ago and she was already drowning in work. The council came on a daily basis, 'offering advice' and giving 'helpful hints' at what they or the Third would do. It made her want to laugh. They didn't need her as Hokage. They wanted a strong puppet that would listen and do the paperwork. You'd think after knowing her in childhood they'd realize she didn't do that very well… but when they really wanted something they had ways to make it work, though she made sure it was damn hard if she didn't like it. "What about them?"_  
"_After the Squad Seven incident we have decided to take precautions as to prevent such another mishap from taking place again. This village has enough troubles without adding unnecessary risks in the shape of more uncertainties."_  
"_I fail to see what this has to do with this year's academy graduates."_  
"_There are two children who are graduating in this class who we believe may prove to be a danger to either themselves or others."_  
"_Oh? Which ones?"_  
"_Hajine Kozueya and Kogiri Suko."_  
"_The two children who were adopted by the village? So you're assuming because they were not originally from Konoha that they will provide a threat?"_  
"_In any other circumstance we may not think so, but certain things have come to our attention that lead us to believe that the possibility exists."_  
"_And those things would be…"_  
"_The fact that before they came to this village it seems like they did not exist."  
Tsunade stared at the old woman a moment, brow furrowed as she tried to understand her words. Her look of confusion brought for the explanation she sought._  
"_As is custom whenever someone enters the village we had ANBU do a background check on both respectively when they each entered the village. In Kozueya's case, all we were able to discover was the name of the village she grew up in and the fact that from the time she left that village until she arrived in Konoha she had been seen with the Mangekyou Sharingan. There is no record of Kozueya in the Uchiha clan records, but there is no doubt that she was born with them. Judging from past precedence, her eyes alone prove the potential danger. Her lack of history just makes it worse."_  
"_The Mangekyou…? At her age?"_  
"_Yes. The other girl doesn't have any dangerous limits that we know of, but what we found on her was a little more disturbing."_  
"_What could be more disturbing than the Mangekyou?"_  
"_The fact that our best investigator couldn't find anything on her. She seemed to appear out of thin air. Nothing through her family name or records in any other village."_  
"_Nothing?"_  
"_Not one word."  
Tsunade could understand the cause for their concern now, but she'd met with the girls on occasion and they seemed kind enough. Kozueya was rather timid at times… as was Suko, though she tended to be so all the time, but they were both energetic and dedicated in their studies. Kozueya was graduating from the Academy after only a year and a half after entering. Suko learned quickly as well, though with difficulty. She practically lived at the Academy in order to ensure that she would graduate with Kozueya._  
"_So then what is it you wish to do?"_  
"_We would like to assign them together in a team, and then place an ANBU member as the third teammate to keep an eye on them and report anything strange."_  
"_Do you have anyone in mind?"_  
"_There is a boy in the same graduating class. Ashura Shoumi. He's been in the Academy since the age of eight, but hasn't graduated till now due to his extended absences for ANBU training with his mother."_  
"_Ashura? You don't mean Michiko's son."_  
"_The one and the same."  
Ashura Michiko. The most devout and dangerous ANBU member that Tsunade had ever encountered. Her loyalty to the village bordered on insanity. If the good of the village meant killing her only son, she would do it. As a result she had raised Shoumi to the same degree, training him to follow in her footsteps. If he were to join the team he would watch the other two carefully and report every blink of their eyes to the council. One word from them and the girls would be dealt with if they deemed it necessary. She didn't like that idea._  
"_I suppose you won't give me a choice in the matter will you?"_  
"_No, they will be monitored whether it is by a teammate or by a separate ANBU member."_  
"_Then I suppose there is no helping it. If I may though, I would like to choose the sensei for the squad. I believe they will need someone exceptional in order to keep up with this."_  
"_You may on the condition that he will not know of Shoumi or his purpose on the team."_  
"_Of course."_  
"_I'm glad you can see the reason behind this. I also think it best that Squad 13 be kept on local missions or training sessions only."_  
"_Squad 13." How fitting._

With a sigh she moved quickly down the hallway and into her office, slamming the door behind her. Shikamaru had been told to bring his team for assignment twenty minutes from now. That would be enough time for her to think exactly how to phrase the 'mission' that they were to be undertaking.

* * *

Shoumi dragged his feet a little as they moved up the stairs towards the Hokage's office. It was a tiring task, trying to keep up with the other two, but it was something he had to do. He could imagine the look on his mother's face if he failed in his duties. 

_The red eyes of his mother's mask stared down at him. Left. Right. Thirty degrees upwards and twist another forty-five. One. Two. Three. Four. Fi—Shit! One shuriken. The painted smile only made the gaze worse as she pulled a kunai from her pouch. One miss. One wound. That was the rule of battle. That was the lesson. The blade broke the skin, a reminder that if he was not careful one mistake could be his last. _

_Their session was interrupted as another member of the squad landed beside her and whispered a brief something before she nodded and he disappeared. She turned, motioning that he was to follow. Moments later they stood before the council. "Michiko. Shoumi. Thank you for coming so quickly. We have assignments for the both of you. First, Shoumi. As you know your mother has been trying for the past few years to discover more information on your teammates."_  
"_Yes, though of course she has told me nothing else on the subject."_  
"_Well that is because there is nothing to tell. She has been unsuccessful. That is why this afternoon you and your team will be leaving to head for Kozueya's village of Woralin. If we cannot find her history there ourselves then we will have her reveal it for us. Report back on the events of the mission when you return."_  
"_Ma'am." He said with a short bow, taking his leave knowing that they wished to speak with his mother alone.  
So it had finally reached the point of paranoia. He had been on the team for a year and had seen no signs of potential danger from the two girls, and Shikamaru had proved to have a very good command on the two. While they may playfully act disobedient, they listened carefully to his orders and were probably two of the best nin in the village at the moment. Whatever. He would do his duty to the village. Eyes closed for a moment, they snapped open at the sound of the door clicking shut only to meet the red of the mask staring back into them. No words. No movement._

Yes. He could only imagine, and every time he saw the painted smile of her Kitsune ANBU mask… the red glow that emanated from behind it.

* * *

"Tsunnaaaade-sama!" Kozueya sang as she skipped in the door and dragging a whimpering Suko behind her, her voice hard against Shikamaru's ears. "Squad 13 has arrived! The boys were late... and Shikamaru-sensei made us even later by not telling us immediately of the appointment, can you believe that?"  
Shikamaru tsked as he moved farther into the room and taking a place behind Kozueya and Suko, who stood cowering behind the first. He remembered her unfortunate experience with Tsunade after she had snapped at her while exhausted once. His third student reminded him a little of Sasuke. Silent, appearing inattentive, and had a thing for corners. His gaze shifted to the Hokage, his features still when he noticed the troubled look in her eyes as she began to speak.  
"You're late."  
"My mother's lectures ran a little late. You know how she gets." Shoumi said before anyone else could speak.  
"No excuses."  
"Leave my team alone, Tsunade. The don't need anymore nightmares of your evil eye."  
"I knew you cared, Shikamaru, else I wouldn't have made you a teacher. I've got a mission for you. Suko, I'm not going to bite your head off... will you stop hiding?" Tsunade chuckled, turning a scroll around slowly so they could look at the map on her desk.  
"Ne, ne, what's the mission Tsunade-sama?" Kozueya was bouncing around. It was only for the important missions that they were called into her office. Shikamaru sighed, scratching his head a little at the continuing shift in the emotions in Tsunade's eyes. She'd gone from sad to almost amused and now to annoyed. Women.  
"A small village in the Country of Mist has been under frequent attack by bandits and has requested that we send a team to assist them. This is a C-rank mission, but could very well hold the dangers of a B-rank. Watch your backs."  
"What's the name of the village?" Suko asked. Kozueya's face froze when she heard it. Had she still been bouncing she would have found herself on the floor. Had she not been holding onto the edge of the desk, she would have found herself on the floor. The name of the village spun round her head. 

_Smoke filled her lungs. Confusion. Stumbling. "Mom!"_

"Woralin."

* * *

Next time on Kitsune no Tori! A promise. A date. A home no more. -------- Hope you liked this chapter. Sorry it took so long to get out but I had a bit of writer's block and a lot of homework. Next update may take just as long or a little bit longer. Projects coming up in my classes. Read and review if you feel like. Questions can be posted in reviews or sent by PM. I will respond as quickly as possible. Yes, I know there is a considerable lack of canon focus. They'll become a lot more prevalent later. **stares at Naruto frowning from the background** Oh relax. You'll be back next chapter. Thanks for the fav and alerts everyone! Until next time! Thank you for reading! –Link Disengaged— 


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